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| For those of you that don't know, my father passed away in December. He'd been suffering for years so his passing, while painful and the cause of more than a few tears, was almost a welcome relief in some ways.
I was unable to attend my father's funeral due to issues with my mother (there's some relationship troubles there) so I wound up going down to the Memorial service in South Carolina instead. I had a great time there, remembering my dad with his family and friends from where he grew up. We spent the memorial doing exactly what my dad would have wanted: laughing.
But tonight, I was intrigued by the memorial service for George Carlin that aired on PBS. One by one, person after person came on stage and told how George had changed their lives or their careers and how much he meant to them. They laughed, some cried, but they all had the same story: "He changed my life." And that got me thinking about my dad again.
My father changed lives. He gave people hope when they had none. He gave them a friend when they needed it. He gave them someone that they knew they could always believe in, no matter what. My father was an inspiration to me, teaching me from a young age that I could do anything that I wanted to, and to never let any obstacles stand in my way. But more than that, he taught me to never step on people to do it. And I'm only one of his many successes.
My father's memorial filled a church in Gafney with friends and family, but he deserved a massive stadium. My brother and I spoke at dad's memorial, but he deserved a line clear out into the parking lot of people singing his praises. My cousins did a stellar job of singing some old hymns that my dad loved, but he deserved to have the Gaithers there singing.
But even as I type this I have to smile as I realize something - he deserved all that... but what he wanted - what he REALLY wanted - was exactly what he got. A warm, loving memorial with the people that he loved and that loved him. My father never asked for much, never wanted much. All he ever needed was his family. He could survive the rest with a smile.
I'll miss my father. He was an inspiration to me. Even in his worst, most painful moments, he had a joke on his lips and a smile on his face. All he ever wanted to do was make people smile and make them happy. He gave people hope. And that's what makes him a great man. To those of you that never knew him, I'm truly sorry. To those of you that did... count yourself lucky. He had his shortcomings and his failings, but all in all... Grady Pierce was a great man. He deserved all the recognition he never got and more.
So long, pop. I love you, and I'll miss you. | | |
| Would someone
PLEASE tell me why it's aparently so damn hard to drive? Every freaking
morning I witness people exhibiting GREAT difficulty following the
rules of the road, or for that matter even following the SIGNS! Maybe
it's just me, I don't know... but DRIVING ISN'T HARD! It's like setting
up a new computer with the big ass sheet of pretty pictures and arrows.
You don't even have to be able to READ to drive! The DMV KNOWS that a
big hunk of American's are iliterate! (Take that third world contries!
See how much better we are than you? :P). And these signs are HUGE!
They're colorful, they're shiney, they're sufficient to keep the
attention of even the most ADD of us. And yet I see people go 10 miles
UNDER the speed limit. I see people swerve out of the turn only lane,
almost causing accidents, because they didn't know that it was a turn
only lane. Gee, mister, didn't nineteen signs back there that had a big
arrow turning right and the word "ONLY" typed out in foot tall letters
clue you in? Guess not...
IT'S NOT THAT HARD PEOPLE! C'MON!
/rant | | |
| Starry nights, city lights
Coming down over me,
Skyscrapers and stargazers,
In my head Are we we are, are we we are,
The waiting, unknown,
This dirty town was burning down in my dreams,
Lost and found city bound in my dreams And screaming, Are we we are, are we we are the waiting,
And screaming,Are we we are, are we we are the waiting Forget me nots and second thoughts,
Live in isolation,
Heads or tales and fairytales in my mind, Are we we are, are we we are,
The waiting, unknown The rage and love, the story of my life,
The Jesus of suburbia is a lie And screaming Are we we are, are we we are the waiting, unknown,
Are we we are, are we we are the waiting, unknown,
Are we we are, are we we are the waiting, unknown,
Are we we are, are we we are the waiting, unknown,
Are we we are, are we we are the waiting, unknown. That's right, I'm about to wax philosophical over a Green Day Song.
Particularly this line here:
"The rage and love, the story of my life, The Jesus of suburbia is a lie" When I first heard it, I balked. My christianese kicked in and I started thinking irrationally... then, slowly but surely, my wits returned and I realized that this line is a deep insite into the current mindset of our lives. The Jesus I believe in isn't the Jesus that I see commonly preached. The God that I believe in isn't the God that gets brodcasted over the airwaves. God isn't here to make your life cooshy, he's not a vending machine, and he takes his love for you seriously. This touchy-feely, uber gooshy bullshit that passes for Christianity isn't real Christianity. Real Christianity cares about quality of life, about helping one another to have better lives. And here's a news flash for you: That doesn't stop if someone isn't a Christian. "OMG? You're an atheist! GET THE BEHIND ME DEVIL!" ... well... that makes us not look like a cult... "Above all else, Love one another..." What does that say to you? Jesus said that. JESUS. Said that before we do _ANYTHING_ else, Love each other. Yet all I see from the modern christian church (the main stream christian church, I'm not talking about the grassroots movements that are actually doing what they're supposed to) is exclusivity and a country club environment. "10,000 people got saved last Sunday!" ... Okay, how many of those people are you actually talking to now? Teaching them how to _LIVE_ like a Christian. I REAL Christian, not just another
hypocritical "I'm better than you" Christian. A perons who will love those around him. There's no "...as long as they're Christians" qualifiers in the Bible. It never said "Love one another, as long as they're Christians." or "Love thy neighbor as thyself, as long as they're Christians." It said, "Love one another." That's all. That's it. Just LOVE ONE ANOTHER! That's why the Jesus of suburbia is a lie. There's no love, there's only pride and bloated self-assuredness. That's not christianity, that's not what the world needs to see. I have friends who aren't Christians. I have athiest friends, unitarian friends, muslim friends, gay friends, and (oh noes!) even wiccan friends. But I don't treat them any differently than I would my Christian friends. They know I have my beliefs, if they ask me about 'em, I'll talk about those beliefs, but I don't shove them down their throats. That's not being a Christian... that's being annoying... The Jesus of Suburbia is a lie... It's time to start showing the real thing. | | |
| The last page is turned. The cover is shut. And another
of my escapes from the skulldrudgery of day to day life has ended.
I
feel tonight a bit like I did when I walked out of Episode III. I feel
like a bit of a piece of me has been clipped away... but it was a big
piece.
This may seem a strange thing to say about the last book
of the Harry Potter series, but it's true. I've spent the last three
years getting to know the Boy-Who-Lived, and cheering him on as he
rushed to fight the darkest of Wizards, Voldemort. But it's not so much
the stories that I'm sad to see go, because I can always read those
again, and relive the adventures from day one; it's the anticipation
that I'll miss. It's the mystery.
Never again will I look
forward to what dangers Voldemort will spin for Harry, or how his
trusted group of close friends will spring him from it. I can't ever
ponder how it will end... because it already has. At this moment, I've
said good bye for the last time to old friends who paid the ultimate so
that their friends might live, I've, and grinned as we finally find out
who Harry winds up with (Hermione? Ginny? Cho? Luna?), we've come to
the end of the road... the story's been told, and there's nothing for
it to do now but go down in history.
In some sense, I almost
feel like Harry is one of my friends as well. The world and wizards
that JK Rowling created has come under so much scrutany that it almost
has a grunge to it now. I've spent so many hours defending the books to
my parents and misled christian friends that I honestly feel like I've
been defending a close friend.
Whatever the case may be, I'm
sure I sound like a sentimental old fool right now. But if you truly
think about it, it's sad. It's sad to say a final (even if cheerful)
good bye to friends, fictional or real. And that's what I've done
tonight.
So long, Harry.
So long, Ron.
Good bye, Hermione.
Good bye, Hogwarts...
I'll never forget you.
Mischief managed... | | |
| I submit to you a theory. One that I am still researching out and testing, but one that I am quickly starting to believe in. However, this theory may rock the basis of your religion. But don't get angry at me, prove me wrong. That's what Christian Fellowship is all about, asking questions, then helping each other through the word.
Here's my theory: Jesus Christ was Human.
Shocking, isn't it? Think about it in context though, for a moment: For twenty-two years, my pastors and family have crammed it down my throat that Jesus was God. The Son of God. God Incarnate. But I don't know how much I believe that, for one reason: God is incapable of sin. If Jesus came to earth, and was God, and was incapable of sin, then he was not a worthy sacrifice for us. Only if by sheer strength of will did he refrain from sinning, only if he was capable of sinning, but remained pure, is he a worthy sacrifice.
Do I believe that Jesus was Ordained by God? Most definately. I do believe that he is the Messiah listed in prophecy, but I also believe that the scribes of that day, and ESPECIALLY the pagans who translated the Bible later had a flare for the dramatic. Jesus is referred to as the Sun of God AND the Son of Man. But we never remember the Son of Man part.
Interesting, huh ;)
I want feed back on this guys. Like I said, this is only a theory, and I've not done the complete gammut of research on it, so if you can shoot this one down, then do it. Punch holes in it baby!
The floor is yours,
Aaron
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